A teenaged student was allegedly beaten to death in a school toilet in the Indian capital and three of his classmates have been detained over the attack. File picture

New Delhi - A teenaged student was allegedly beaten to death in a school toilet in the Indian capital and three of his classmates have been detained over the attack.

"The boy was found unconscious in the toilet of a school in east Delhi on Thursday. He was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead [on arrival]," Ajit Kumar Singla, deputy commissioner of Delhi Police, said on Friday.

Singla said closed circuit camera footage had shown that the boy was in a fight with four other students who had followed him into the bathroom.

"He was punched in the face and other areas. His body has been sent for a post mortem," Singla said.

Three boys have been detained and a search was on for the fourth, Singla said. "They have been charged with Section 302 [murder] under the IPC [Indian Penal Code]." Singla said investigations were continuing.

The incident comes less than six months after a 7-year-old boy, Pradyuman Thakur, was found with his throat slit in a toilet in a school in a Delhi suburb, raising concerns over the safety of children in educational institutions in the region.

A 16-year-old senior schoolboy has been accused of murdering Thakur and is set to face trial.